The Academy Awards have a long memory for losses. Some of the most respected performers in film history have walked into the Dolby Theatre, or the venues before it, more than once and left with only the nomination.
This gallery looks at eight of them, from a modern stage and screen veteran to Hollywood legends of earlier decades. The counts below are based on the Academy’s competitive acting categories.
Glenn Close
Glenn Close holds eight acting nominations and no competitive win. Her run began with The World According to Garp in 1983, and it continued with The Big Chill, The Natural, Fatal Attraction and Dangerous Liaisons.
Albert Nobbs, The Wife and Hillbilly Elegy completed the list. Her most recent nomination came for Hillbilly Elegy at the 2021 ceremony, where Yuh-Jung Youn won the supporting actress prize for Minari.
Peter O’Toole
Peter O’Toole also earned eight nominations in the lead and supporting actor categories, which ties him with Close for the most acting nominations without a competitive win. He was first nominated for Lawrence of Arabia in 1963 and was later nominated for Becket and The Lion in Winter.
His final nomination came for Venus, released in 2006. The Academy gave him an honorary award in 2003, but he never won in a regular category.
Richard Burton
Richard Burton collected seven acting nominations between 1953 and 1978. They included My Cousin Rachel, The Robe, Becket, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Anne of the Thousand Days and Equus.
He was a major star of his era, and his marriage to Elizabeth Taylor kept him in the headlines. Even so, the Oscar never came, and he received no honorary award either.
Amy Adams
Amy Adams has six nominations, which makes her one of the most nominated living actors without a win. Her first came for Junebug in 2006, and she followed it with Doubt, The Fighter, The Master, American Hustle and Vice.
Five of those were in the supporting actress category, and American Hustle was her only lead nomination. Her nominations span a little more than a decade, which shows how consistently the Academy has noticed her.
Thelma Ritter
Thelma Ritter was nominated six times, every time for best supporting actress. Her films included All About Eve, Pickup on South Street, Pillow Talk and Birdman of Alcatraz.
She was known for sharp, wisecracking working class characters who often stole scenes from bigger names. Her nominations ran from 1951 to 1963, and she never took home the trophy.
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr received six nominations for best actress, starting with Edward, My Son and including From Here to Eternity, The King and I and Separate Tables. Her later nominations included Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison and The Sundowners.
The Academy presented her with an honorary award in 1994. That recognised her career, though it didn’t change her record in the competitive categories.
Annette Bening
Annette Bening has been nominated four times for best actress. The films were American Beauty, Being Julia, The Kids Are All Right and Nyad.
Her most recent nomination, for Nyad, came at the ceremony held in March 2024. In two of her earlier races she lost to Hilary Swank, once for Boys Don’t Cry and once for Million Dollar Baby.
Ed Harris
Ed Harris has four acting nominations: Apollo 13, The Truman Show, Pollock and The Hours. Three of them were in the supporting actor category, while Pollock, a film he also directed, earned him a lead actor nomination.
His roles range from a NASA flight director to a television creator and a tormented painter. He has been recognised often by the Academy, yet he still hasn’t won.
